Warnings for staff after reports of prowler on Ormskirk Hospital car park

NURSES at Ormskirk Hospital have been issued safety advice amid fears over a man prowling a car park on the site after dark.

Hospital trust bosses are advising staff to leave with a colleague or wait for a porter to escort them to their car when their shifts finish after dark after a man was seen “loitering" in the Ruff Lane car park on March 7.

Police have increased patrols in the area and the hospital trust has also contacted Edge Hill University to warn students who use the car park as a shortcut to Wigan Road.

Relatives of nurses working at the hospital said they are concerned over their loved ones’ safety following the reports, with some claiming not enough is being done to protect them.

One concerned reader complained that nurses were having to walk to their cars alone and in the dark after finishing shifts at 9pm, and had been refused the use of the better-lit main car park.

He said: “It seems the hospital will only do something about this prowler once something terrible happens. My partner works at Ormskirk Hospital and I am so worried for her safety.”

Meanwhile a husband of one of the nurses at the hospital claimed staff were so afraid they were grouping together when leaving, and said that the staff car park should be lit and patrolled by night watchmen.

But the trust said it was taking all steps necessary to keep people safe, and said it had not received any reports of staff being followed or chased. All departments in the hospital have been alerted to the prowler and a warning was placed in the hospital’s internal newsletter on Friday, March 9.

Patrick McEvoy, physical risk co-ordinator at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust, said: “The trust was alerted to the existence of a man loitering in the car park at Ruff Lane, Ormskirk, on Wednesday, March 7 by the hospital night co-ordinator.

“After further investigation, the police were informed the following day and they agreed to increase patrols in the area.”

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “We have had reports of a prowler being seen around the hospital between the hours of 8pm and 9pm.

“We have increased patrols in the area and are making sure patrols go through the Ruff Lane side of the hospital.

“Anybody who sees anyone acting suspiciously is urged to let us know on 101.”